Here's What You Need to Know If You Want a Nipple Piercing Like Kendall Jenner's

Kendall, Kylie, Bella, Rihanna: It seems like everyone has their nipples pierced except me. But every time I toy with the idea (which I've actually been doing for several years now—don't freak out, Mom), worst-case scenarios of inflamed or atrophied erogenous zones immediately put the "hell no" to that fantasy. That's why I decided to talk to New York piercing pro J. Colby Smith, whose clients include Emma Stone, Zoë Kravitz, and Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, about pain, unintended side effects, and whether a piercing really can cause your nipples to fall off.

How much do nipple piercings hurt? "On a scale of 1 to 10, I'd put it at a 3. Most ear piercings are a 2. The septum is an easy 2, and the nostril maybe a 3. It's the preconceived notions and fear that build up anxiety in people, but once it happens, they're usually like, 'Oh, it's different than I thought.'" [Editor's note: We've heard from multiple sources that nipple-piercing pain is closer to a 6, but with the bonus of a serious endorphin rush.]

How do you care for them? "It's simple: soap and water twice a day. Just wash it gently with your fingers and move the jewelry around a little bit. Some people try to put ointment on it, your friend says do this, the Internet says do that, but really your body does a good job taking care of itself. You just need to help keep the area clean."

What's the healing process like? "It's anywhere from two to six months. And it's not painful that whole time, but the piercings are definitely temperamental. If there's any trauma to them, they're going to act up, especially while they're new. Keep washing twice a day for at least the first two months."

Anything to look for in a piercing place besides the common-sense stuff: permit, gloves, clean equipment, etc.? "Instincts are key. You're taking your shirt off, and that adds another layer of anxiety, so you want somebody that makes you feel comfortable. If you feel creeped out, or if you feel like it's dirty or the dude's a dickhead, you're not wrong. Also, you can be very inexperienced and still have a license. What I usually tell people is when you see someone with a lot of piercings, and you like what they have, ask them where they got it."

What are the main risks? "Nipple piercings can snag on things like sweaters. They can get infected. And your body can reject the foreign object. Everybody has a different anatomy. But for the most part, all piercings are easily tolerated."

How long will a nipple piercing last compared to other piercings? "It's one of the few piercings that's hard to get back after the jewelry has been out. People will come in and say, 'I had my septum pierced for three years, but I haven't worn [jewelry] for ten, and it's no problem.' But someone could have had their nipples pierced for ten years, take the jewelry out for three days, and the holes will then be hard to find."

And what's the process if you want to let the holes close? "It doesn't leave a lot of scarring. We pierce as thinly as possible. I can always kind of see where piercings were, but it's something I think only I would notice. It really doesn't deform the nipples or make them look weird."

How do nipple piercings affect sensation? "I've heard a lot of rumors about sensitivity being lost, but in my experience—and I've been doing this since 1999—I've found that sensitivity is increased in some people. I've never personally met anybody who has lost sensation. I think that's a bit of a wives' tale."

And if you want to breast-feed, will that be a problem? "When you breast feed, a lot of people think it's like a single spout, but the milk naturally comes out of more than one area. The piercing won't change that. The only thing you'd want to do is take the jewelry out. You don't want to put that in the baby's mouth."